Shoe sterilizer



Dec. 31, 1946: FQRTNEY 2,413,494

,HOE STERILIZER Filed April 18, 1944 Inventor Patented Dec. 31, 1946UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I SHOE STERILIZER Marion F. Fortney,Charleston, W. Va. Application April 18, 1944, Serial No. 531,655

2 Claims.

the device, a shoe being shown in broken lines 4 in an envelopingposition with respect to the device.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the sterilizer.

Figure 3 is a bracket for supporting the sterilizer.

Referring to the drawing wherein like numerals designate like parts, itcan be seen that numeral 5 generally refers to a frame of general shoeconfiguration, the same having a sloping top portion 6, a toe portion 1,a, sole portion 8, an arch and heel portion 9 and a back portion Ill.Bridge members II and I2 are provided on the intermediate portion of thetop 6 of the frame and the back portion ID, the bridge member ll havinga depending lip 12 provided with a socket l3 for receiving one end of anultra-violet ray tube l4, the other end of the tube beingdisposed into asocket l5 carried by the bridge member l2.

The tube l4 underlies a hood-like structure l6 preferably of highlypolished material and serving as a reflector.

Projecting from the back end of the hood I6 is a member I! having adepending portion l8 terminating in a depending tongue [9 which can bedisposed into the offset portion 20 of a bracket 2| which may besituated on a wall or other vertical structure. This adequately servesto support the sterilizer in a handy and protected manner.

It can be seen that the frame 5 is constructed of wire memberspreferably having some resiliency so that the frame can be easilyinserted into a shoe.

A bridge plate 22 is provided on the upper portion 6 near the rear endthereof and this carries a socket 23 with which engages a plug 24 on acurrent supply cord 25. Connections are made from the socket 23 to apush button switch structure 26 and from this switch wires 21 extend tothe tube l4.

2 3 Thus it can be seen, that the present practice of stuffing shoeswith chemical impregnated material for the purpose of killing bacteria,fungus and the like, and which chemical may later prove injurious to thefeet, is substituted for by the present invention which thoroughlypenetrates .the inner surfaces of the shoe to thoroughly kill allbacteria and fungus without leaving any harmful after-effectpossibilities.

While the foregoing specification sets forth the invention in specificterms, it is to be understood that numerous changes in the shape, sizeand materials may be resorted to without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as claimed hereinafter.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A shoe sterilizer adapted to be inserted within a shoe includinglaterally extendin spaced frame elements shaped to approximate theinside contour of a shoe, transversely extending reinforcing connectionsbetween said frame elements, electric sockets supported by saidconnections, an ultra-violet tube between said sockets, and a combinedreflector and guard supported by the upper portion of said sterilizerframe elements to overlie said tube to direct the rays therefromdownwardly into the interior of the shoe and to completely fill the shoeopening to guard against injury to the eyes of the person operating thesterilizer by the rays of said tube.

2. A shoe sterilizer adapted to be inserted in a shoe includinglaterally extending spaced frame elements shaped to approximate theinside contour of the shoe, transversely extending reinforcingconnections between said frame elements,

electric sockets supported by said connections, an ultra-violet tubebetween said sockets, a combined reflector and guard supported on theupper frame element of said sterilizer to overlie said tube to directthe rays therefrom downwardly into the interior of the shoe and tocompletely fill the shoe opening to guard against injury to the eyes ofthe person operating the sterilizer by the rays of said tube, anelectrical connection supported on said frame elements for connectionwith one of said sockets, and said frame elements being shapeable to fitvarying types and sizes of shoes.

MARION F. FORTNEY.

